Notice Type
Departmental
Notice Title

Direction in Relation to Special Benefit Amendment (No. 2) 2005

To: The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development.
Pursuant to section 5 of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development and Employment makes the following amendment to the Direction in relation to Special Benefit given on 10 February 1999.
Dated at Wellington this 17th day of March 2005.
STEVE MAHAREY, Minister for Social Development and Employment.
———
A m e n d m e n t
1. Title—(1) This amendment is the Direction in relation to Special Benefit Amendment (No. 2) 2005.
(2) In this amendment, the Direction in relation to Special Benefit is called “the direction”.
2. Commencement—This amendment comes into effect on 1 April 2005.
3. Further amendments relating to Working for Families package—The direction is amended in the manner set out
in Schedule 1.
4. Amendments relating to change in Consumers Price Index—The Schedule of the direction (as substituted by clause
4 and Schedule 2 of the Direction in relation to Special Benefit Amendment 2005) is amended in the manner set out in Schedule 2.
5. Savings—Despite anything in clause 3 and Schedule 1, or in clause 4 and Schedule 2 of the Direction in relation to Special Benefit Amendment 2005, you should continue to pay a special benefit without change to an applicant who, immediately before 1 April 2005, was receiving a special benefit granted before that date until the benefit is next reviewed under section 81 of the Social Security Act 1964.
Schedule 1
Clause 3
Amendments to the direction
Clause 2.1
Omit the new paragraph (aa) of the definition of chargeable income (as inserted by clause 4 (1) and Schedule 2 of the Direction in relation to Special Benefit Amendment 2005) and substitute:
“(aa) the weekly amount of any family support credit of tax under subpart KD of the Income Tax Act 2004 that—
(i) is paid by instalments to the applicant in accordance with section KD 6 or section KD 7 of that Act; or
(ii) where not paid by instalments, the applicant, in the opinion of the chief executive, is entitled to under that subpart; and”.
Clause 3.1
Omit from paragraph (a) (i) the expression “4 x sib” and substitute the words “the amount in clause 1 of Schedule 31 of the Act”.
Omit from paragraph (a) (ii) the expression “4 x mib” and substitute the words “the amount in clause 2 of that Schedule”.
Omit the definition of b and substitute:
“b is—
(a) for an applicant with 1 or more dependent children, 25% of the applicant’s allowable costs; or
(b) in any other case, 30% of the applicant’s allowable costs”.
Revoke the definitions of mib and sib.
Schedule 2
Clause 4
Amendments to the Schedule of the direction
Omit clauses 3 (b), 8, 11, 12 and 14.
Omit from each provision set out in column 1 of the following table the amount set out opposite to it in column 2 and substitute the amount set out in column 3.
Column 1Provision amended Column 2Amounts omitted$ Column 3Amounts substituted$
Clause 1 (a) 70.15 72.04
Clause 1 (b) 97.77 100.41
Clause 1 (c) 183.43 188.38
Clause 2 70.15 72.04
Clause 4 (a) 93.48 96.00
Clause 4 (b) 132.63 136.21
Clause 4 (c) 241.97 248.50
Clause 5 103.35 106.14
Clause 6 (a) 93.48 96.00
Clause 6 (b) 132.63 136.21
Clause 6 (c) 103.35 106.14
Clause 7 (a) 132.84 136.43
Clause 7 (b) 132.84 136.43
Clause 7 (c) 242.34 248.88
Clause 9 154.53 158.70
Clause 10 222.91 228.93
Clause 13 173.58 178.27
Clause 15 241.97 248.50
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the amendment, but is intended to indicate its general effect.
This amendment to the Ministerial Direction in relation to Special Benefit (“the direction”), which takes effect on 1 April 2005, makes the remaining amendments to the direction arising out of the Working for Families package, including:
? a change to an element of the formula used to assess special benefit for applicants with dependent children to 25% of the applicant’s allowable costs from 1 April 2005. The element remains at 30% of allowable costs for other applicants;
? replacing reference to the invalid’s benefit in cash assets limits with reference to the new Schedule 31 of the Social Security Act 1964 which comes into force on that date;
? replacing the new paragraph (aa) of the definition of chargeable income, which would have been inserted on 1 April 2005 by the Direction in relation to Special Benefit Amendment 2005, with a new paragraph to provide for the inclusion of family support in the assessment of special benefit where it is not paid by instalments.
A savings provision makes it clear that these and the other changes to the direction in the package will not affect a special benefit granted before 1 April 2005 until the benefit is next reviewed.
The amendment also adjusts standard costs in the Schedule of the direction to take into account a 2.70% increase in the Consumers Price Index, and omits provisions of the Schedule relating to grandparented rates of sickness benefit that have become obsolete.